Students learn about milk campaign at JA BizTown open day session

At a recent open day session at JA BizTown, students from Monsignor Colin Bryan Preparatory School learnt about the ‘Drink Real Milk’ (DRM) campaign and the operations of the milk industry.

The session also saw the participation of DRM partners, including Nutramix, Jamaica Dairy Development Board, Newport-Fersan, Island Dairies and Seprod, who imparted knowledge to the students.

“The objective of our open day session is to engage and allow partners to see first-hand the investment Drink Real Milk has made in our children’s future. Partners are able to see the students in action and to also impart knowledge and the differing roles”, explained JA BizTown Manager Jodi-Kay Kerr.

“Since 2014, JA BizTown has been transforming how primary school students engage in learning. Open day series are held annually, where partner companies are invited and given a series of dates to choose from, indicating when they would like to come. Aside from an invitation from the JA BizTown team, partners can also select dates that they would like to, or are available to, come and volunteer”, Kerr added.

JA BizTown is the name for Junior Achievement’s experiential-based primary-school programme. It encompasses important aspects of work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy, providing students in grades five and six with a solid foundation of business, economics, and free enterprise education. Through daily lessons, hands-on activities, and active participation in a simulated community, students are encouraged to use critical-thinking skills as they learn about key economic concepts and possible career options they can pursue.

MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE

Livingston Binns, sales and marketing manager at Island Dairies, explained that the exercise with the students was a meaningful one.

“We were able to garner and expose these young people to the different levels of management of the milk industry – from collection to distribution. I think it is a step in the right direction if we get them to buy into or know what is happening in the milk industry. The exposure is good also”.

Binns conducted a presentation which saw the students being taught the physical aspects of how a milk factory operates.

“One aspect of the Drink Real Milk campaign is to sensitise the younger generation to the whole habit of drinking milk’, added Binns.

Grade-six student Okiro Manning, who assumed the role of a quality assurance technician during the open day session, was ecstatic about the programme.

“In order for the milk to go to market, it has to be tested if there’s any bacteria in it”, he said.

He added: “I like milk because it tastes good, it makes you healthy, and it makes your bones stronger.”

Grade-five student Rashaad Simpson, whose role was that of a chief financial officer, shared what he learnt.

“I learnt that the chief financial officer is very important to an organisation. He takes care of the money and writes the cheques”, he said.

“We are excited that the kids are having a positive reaction to learning about the dairy process. We want them to understand that ‘local’, in many respects, means better for you and in the case of Drink Real Milk, it also means better for your community,” said Tina Hamilton, brand manager of Nutramix.